DUBAI (Reuters) - Gunmen fired on a military parade in southwestern Iran on Saturday, killing 25 people, almost half of them members of the Revolutionary Guards, state news agencies reported, in one of the worst attacks ever on the elite force.

State television said the assault, which wounded more than 60 people, targeted a stand where Iranian officials had gathered in the city of Ahvaz to watch an annual event marking the start of the Islamic Republic’s 1980-88 war with Iraq.

Arab - Opposition - Movement - Ahvaz - National

An Iranian ethnic Arab opposition movement called the Ahvaz National Resistance, which seeks a separate state in oil-rich Khuzestan province, claimed responsibility for the attack.

Islamic State militants also claimed responsibility. Neither claim provided evidence. All four attackers were killed.

Women - Children - Assault - State - News

Women and children also died in the assault, state news IRNA agency reported.

Brigadier General Abolfazl Shekarchi, a senior spokesman for Iran’s armed forces, said the attackers had hidden weapons in an area near the parade route several days in advance.

Terrorists - Security - Forces - Shekarchi - State

“All four terrorists were quickly neutralized by security forces,” Shekarchi told state television. “A four-year-old girl and a wheelchair-bound war veteran were among the dead.”

Attacks on the military are rare in Iran.

Blow - Security - OPEC - Oil - Producer

The bloodshed struck a blow to security in OPEC oil producer Iran, which has been relatively stable compared with neighboring Arab countries that have grappled with upheaval since the 2011 uprisings across the Middle East.

The Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corp (IRGC),the most powerful and heavily armed military force in the country, have been the sword and shield of Shi’ite clerical rule in Iran since its 1979 Islamic Revolution.

Guards - Role - Iran - Interests - Stake

The Guards play a big role in Iran’s regional interests and have a vast stake worth billions of dollars in Iran’s economy.

A video distributed to Iranian media showed soldiers crawling to escape gunfire. One picked up a gun and scrambled to his feet as women and children...